My current subscription:

I immediately called Globe but their IVR is too messy that there is no option for upgrade. Anyway, I just chatted with Globe and here’s our conversation. Personal details were asterisked. Notice that I was redundant about my questions. I want to make sure that the agent understands what I want to happen.

Carina:Hi! This is Carina, your live chat agent. How can I help you today?
herbert:Carina, I have a 1mbps + landline @ 1295 subscription with globe. But I saw on the flyers
and website that there is 2 mbps + landline @ 1299. Can I get an upgrade or do I need to get a new
subscription?
Carina:Before we proceed, May I have your name and your account number?
herbert:Herbert ******** / *******
Carina:Thank you o much for those information.
Carina:Mr. Carigma, Just to confirm, you’re inquiring for the account no.******?
herbert:yes
Carina:Going back to your concern, regarding your upgrade of plan inquiry
Carina:We also offer a Wifi router, would you likes to avail?
herbert:i want to know first if I could upgrade to 2mbps + landline @ 1299 with my current plan
Carina:Yes Sir. We can process your request for upgrade from 1mbps to 2mbps bundle.
Carina:Would you like me to process your request?
herbert:will that be for 1299?
Carina:Yes sir.
herbert:ok. please process my request for an upgrade, from 1 mbps + landline at P 1295, to 2 mbps
+ landline at P 1299
Carina:Allow me to verify your account.
Carina:May I have your complete billing address and your date of birth?
herbert:***********, ********, ******** / ********* **, ****
Carina:Thank you so much for those information.
Carina:Just to remind, your contract will be re-lock to 12 months.
herbert:ok. i understand. when will the 2mbps + landline subscription @ 1299 start?
Carina:Monitoring time for upgrade is within 24 hours.
herbert:ok. will get a wifi router?
Carina:If you want, you can also avail. Would you like to have?
herbert:is it free?
Carina:Yes Sir.
herbert:ok. yes, i would like to avail of that free router. when can I expect it then?
Carina:The delivery of router is within 3 to 5 days.
Carina:May I have your other contact number?
herbert:***********. can you also update my contact details on your record? i have switched from
prepaid to postpaid. Please delete *********** and make it ***********.
Carina:This is your reference number, ***********
herbert:is that the reference number for the upgrade, or for this conversation?
Carina:Yes Sir.
herbert:which one?
Carina:This reference number number, ***********, is for your upgrade of service, from
1mbps to 2mbps bundle.
Carina:Kindly monitor within 24 hours for the upgrade of your service.
herbert:thanks. when can I expect the router? i am not usually at home so I would want to be
contacted first before they go into our house.
Carina:Within 3 to 5 days .
herbert:ok. thanks.
Carina:Kindly monitor, just keep your lines open, our support team will give you feedback regarding
the delivery
Carina:You’re welcome.
Carina:Would that be all?
herbert:yes, that would be all. thanks carina.
Carina:Thank you for using Talk2GLOBE Chat! I’m glad to have served you today.

I will update you with my experience about the upgrade

But then again, I also have two Yahoo accounts – one personal, the other for business. Yahoo has a similar offering with that of a code that Google has. They call it “second sign-in verification.” If you login to your account using a non-recognized device or computer, Yahoo will prompt you to enter the verification code sent to your phone.

My problem, however, is that this second-sign in verification does not apply to one of my two Yahoo accounts. I have two mobile numbers, differentiated only by a number (different networks though)

This is my account that has the 2-step verification:

The other account that has NO 2-step verification:

I searched in Yahoo Help to no avail. Anyone else who has this problem?

Tag People in Facebook with Any Name You Want
The Huffington Post will teach you how to tag people in a post with any name you want. It’s like making a hyperlink to people’s profile.

Coca Cola’s Where Will Happiness Strike Next
A tear-jerky promotion by Coca Cola where three selected OFWs, who have been away from the country for a long time, surprised their family family members when they arrived home.

Tech Company Wants Zero Email
This one is closer to home. The CEO of the French company Atos wants to have a “zero email” policy in 18 months. That’s still a long way to go, but for the meantime, what I want is to declutter my Inbox.

The Cognitive Benefits Of Chewing Gum
An experiment was performed between gum chewers and non-gum chewers and the result: gum chewers performed better.

Lastly, watch Maroon Five perform in Victoria’s Secret Fashion show. The girls are so damn sexy. I have to download the full show because of this.

Copycat from:

Once inside the compound, have your forms validated. I expect that you would have the two documents printed – the details of the appointment and the registration form. Upon entrance, after having your bag inspected (no food and drinks allowed, not even bottled water), that’s the first table you will see. The validator will scan the bar code and will put a red stamp on your registration form. They will get from you the appointment sheet.

Next, find the tent that has your scheduled time. Tents are labeled as 8 am, 9 am, etc. The guards implement a particular order so make sure you are aware who’s the last in line. The guards will tell you when you should line up.

Step 1: the line up process. This is the mother of all zigzags. There must be at least a hundred people there, changing seats every 5 minutes, and follow the zigzag. I spent about an hour in this line. In step 1, the teller will gather your documents and will ask you if you want the express processing or the regular. I opted for express which means that I can get the password two weeks from the date of processing. It costs P 1200.

Step 2: payment. Pay the processing fee. Time: 2 minutes

Step 3: get a number. You should get an appointment number. Mine is 1514. As I check the monitor, they are processing 1872. I heard the guards shouting that those who are 1500 above can take their lunches. There are seats available but it’ll be better if you will sit on the ones near the exit because most of them are empty.

This process is actually new for me. I haven’t seen a government office like this. Basically, there are data capturing tables around the office, with numbers 25 up to 70 something. These tables are manned by the employees. There’s a computer, a camera, scanner and seat for the passport requestor. Not all tables are occupied. Maybe the employees are on lunch, or hasn’t arrived yet. Four monitors are installed where you will see the number being served, and the table where the processing will be done.

Step 4: processing. After hours of waiting, I saw my number in table 52. I had my picture taken, papers submitted and verified all the data. Data gathering and picture taking took four minutes.

Optional step 5: delivery. You can either get your passport from the same office, or have it delivered to you. Since I am lazy going back to DFA (although I always want to go to Manila), I opted for a 120 peso delivery through 2Go. There are tables setup near the exit. You just have to provide them with the address.

So there goes my ordeal in having passport processed. You can say that it’s relatively hassle free because there are no fixers. Also, I advise that you yourself make an appointment with DFA instead of going through a travel agency. The only thing, I think, that they will do is to fill up the appointment form in your behalf, which is impractical because there’s already a website for that.

Next week: Philhealth processing.

Download the document here.

Todd: Can I ask you a question? I see palm trees. Did HR move to Florida or something like that?

HR: I’m in the Philippines. The HR department has been outsourced here. Are you with manufacturing in China?

Todd: No, I’m with sales in India. Is there any part of Mid- America novelties that’s still in mid-America?

HR: I think management is still there, but legal in Vietnam, well let me discuss it…. (laughs)

You can download episode 18 here.

In more realistic terms, that’s 32 megabytes per second. How envious! I only averages 120 kilobytes per second in Globe Telecom, which translates to 2 hours spent downloading a 700 MB DVD rip file.

Fishing has its ups and downs. You reach an unexplainable high after catching an “I think you’re the one” fish, and end up feeling low and exhausted when you both realize, “Hey, we got way much ahead of ourselves. Let’s both go back to the sea.” Exhausting I say.

Gone fishing
Christian Paul Limjap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 24, 2010
Read the article here.

“HIJO,” DAD said, while cradling my niece, “you better give me an apo soon. Look!”

I tried my best to muster a smile. I turned around and got back to what I was doing, rolling my eyes and thinking, “Come on, Dad, cut me some slack.”

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to settle down and have children some day. I do entertain the thought of having a family waiting for me at the end of the day and seeing my child running up to me for a big hug and a kiss and then enjoying a meal prepared by my wife. I have a couple of friends who are already fathers, and they say that all their troubles and worries go away the moment they are with their children, like a “happy pill.” I cannot relate with what they tell me, but I do envy them. Ah, the simple joys in life.

I am a late bloomer when it comes to fishing. I had no idea how to string up bait until I was in college. I was 21 when I came across my first good catch. Or so I thought. We ended up having more drama together than all the teleseryes shown on prime time combined, more fights than Manny Pacquiao in his entire boxing career, and more headaches than Gloria Arroyo’s administration. It was more than I could handle, and that was why we both had to go back to sea.

I have had a couple more good catches in the next couple of years. Unfortunately, they were not meant to be. Why they didn’t work out is a long story. This is why until now, I still wear my fisherman’s hat and play George Clooney heading out to the perfect storm, still searching for my best and final catch.

Friends and family tell me I am not getting any younger, and that no matter how vast my fishing grounds, the ocean will sooner or later run out of fish. Eventually we all have to drop anchor and swim for shore, they add.

It’s not like I head out to sea just for the fun of it. I go out, braving the storm of dating and the dance that is courtship. For the ladies who think that the male population has no trouble when it comes to dating, I beg your pardon. We head out to sea with our complete fishing gear, or at least we try to. “Suit up!” is what I tell myself while preparing for a date. Like any sensible minded guy, I go through the trouble of suiting up—getting the right haircut, carefully choosing what to wear, finalizing dinner plans. Wine ’em and dine ’em, I say. Impress or better luck next time. Stand out or be left high and dry. Imagine being in the middle of a deserted town, with tumble bushes rolling across the road as the humid air blows on your face. Sad, right? “Suit up!” I must.

Some of my fellow fishermen believe that the bigger your vessel (actually your car), the better your chances of landing a good catch. “Hey, whatever works for you,” I tell them.

Some ladies may find it hard to believe, but all the suiting up and fishing do take their toll sometimes. And for me, it is most of the time.

The fact that men outnumber women doesn’t help my chances either. Here you are, on a night out, with a gazillion shipping boats around, all vying for the same cause. All ready to wine and dine. And all a lady has to do is point out who fits her taste. “Congratulations!” she might say. “You’ve just caught my attention. Here’s a medal. I may consider you.”

Maybe. After going through all that trouble, all you get is a maybe. See my point, ladies? Is the picture clear enough?

Fishing has its ups and downs. You reach an unexplainable high after catching an “I think you’re the one” fish, and end up feeling low and exhausted when you both realize, “Hey, we got way much ahead of ourselves. Let’s both go back to the sea.” Exhausting I say.

The best catch—that is what I long for. The catch that would make me hang my boots, turn in my ship’s key, bury my fishing gear, then look her in the eye, and say, “You were worth the wait.”

As I approach the dreaded age by most (though not by me) of 30, here I am still patiently waiting for the “mother of all catch” to come my way. But until that day comes, I will continue to “suit up,” put on my hat, play Clooney and brave the storm—until I receive an Oscar.

Christian Paul Limjap, 28, is a sales executive working behind a desk and waiting for something more challenging and intellectually stimulating to come his way, and also still waiting to be dazzled.

According to one Hong Kong reporter at the inquest, witnesses could come and go as they pleased; and even talk with whoever they wished before and after their testimony.

Meals were taken in situ by all, even as evidence was being taken; mobile phones would ring and be answered, and so on. In short, anything went.

Even if the legal system in the Philippines is different from ours, as it might well be, what has been reported – even if only half true – is disquieting. How much weight can the testimonies of witnesses have if they conferred with others?

What about those who did not turn up when `’invited” to do so? How much essential evidence is therefore missing?

Authorities in Manila have revealed that some of the eight hostages who lost their lives could have been killed by police bullets. And President Benigno Aquino came out to say he considers the letter from Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen insulting and that he deliberately did not answer the call from Tsang because the protocol was incorrect. He also insinuated that “heads will roll”once all is revealed.

For a start, if the board of inquiry is unable to produce a report and recommendations of any judicial value, of course as seen through our eyes, what grounds are there for “chopping” anyone?

A witch hunt is not something we in Hong Kong want. We want justice done and seen to be done.

We come now to the value of the evidence – both forensic and real. The scene was completely disturbed and just about everything, as seen through TV cameras covering the incident, handled or touched by someone. So who can say who was where or which was what?

Any evidence now available could be paper-thin and might not stand up under severe and intelligent cross-examination.

What about responsibility? According to reports, there was no one in charge as all senior people had gone for either meals, coffee, meetings or something else. So if they had put others in charge, what were their orders, instructions and guidelines?

And, even if such orders were given, those not present were still in charge and must take responsibility if things go wrong. Blaming lack of training or poor equipment is not good enough.

It is always up to the senior man to ensure the troops are trained and equipped. If not, then any setbacks are his and his alone. Why else are people called commanders?

Finally, while Aquino was probably justified in not answering the call from Tsang, responding to a letter is common courtesy, even if it was insulting. A reply, returning the insult if you like, should still be sent. This is proper protocol.

On balance, Tsang overreacted but has won praise while Aquino underreacted and drew criticism which is fully deserved.

We now wait to see if “heads will roll” and whose.

JS Lam served with Hong Kong police – `Asia’s Finest’ – for 32 years, reaching the rank of senior superintendent before retiring in 1996.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=5&art_id=102818&sid=29561541&con_type=1&d_str=20100913&fc=1